| The value of lean in is almost unrelated to anything except for it's author's gender. Most of this stuff has been said before. There are tons of career books, and she cites a lot of existing research. It's valuable because it shows a career track to women in technology, which is undoubtedly a male-dominated field. It also repackages a lot of existing knowledge into a format that is accessible to ambitious young women. It's valuable because it allows me to talk to my sister about how she perceives gender issues. She is a mechanical engineer, and without having a common language it would be difficult for me to relate my career to hers. It's valuable because my girlfriend can pick it up and use it to develop an understanding of how she fits in the workplace. Having a reference text allows her to interface with peers and build a dialogue. When I first started editing inside investing, I realized something about two days into the job: we commonly conceive writing as the pursuit of truth through argumentation. In many cases, that is patently wrong. Most writing serves to stoke conversation. All of this discussion--whether it suggests males are intrinsically different or that there is more to women's pay and achievement gap in terms of social dynamics--is the point of the book. All of this criticism is valid, but guess what--did the book get you to think about women in the workplace? Have you considered how you behave in relation to your female colleagues and employees as a result of reading this book? If so, it's done its job. |